Football, also known as soccer in various regions of the world, has a lengthy history. In the middle of the 19th century, football developed in its modern form in England. Alternative forms of the game did, however, exist far earlier and are documented in the history of football.
Early history and football’s forerunners
Old Mesoamerican tribes produced the earliest recorded instances of team games utilizing a ball formed of rock more than 3,000 years ago. Although there were numerous variations of the game played throughout a wide area, it was created by the Aztecs and was called Tchatali. rubber ball; no other early culture had access to it.
The first documented kick-and-ball game, known as cuju, was played in China between the third and second centuries BC. Cuju was played on a square-shaped space with a circular ball made of stitched leather with fur or feathers inside.
Later, a modified version of this game known as kemari was played in ceremonial settings and spread to Japan.
The game was created in England in the 12th century, according to another s most widely accepted theory. Football-like sports were played in this century on English highways and fields. In addition to kicks, the game also incorporated fist blows at the ball. Additionally, compared to modern football, this early version of the sport was significantly rougher and more brutal.
But it took a while before modern football’s elements started to be used in games. Rugby and football did not separate themselves for a very long period. There were also a lot of variations in the ball’s size, the number of players, and the duration of the game.
There were just a few national football teams in existence in the late 19th century; the first active teams, England and Scotland, began playing matches against one another in the 1870s. The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global governing organization, currently includes 211 national associations.
